While much has changed for the worse, some things have definitely changed for the better, in the last five years, in India. One of the changes I am really grateful for is to be able to book train tickets online.

Hallelujah!!

Does anyone recall ye olde days of yore at the railway station, standing in a queue for 4 hours to reach the head of the line only to be told “Sold out” or “Waiting list only” or only available for the next day and other such disappointing stuff. We knew full well that half the tickets had been “reserved” to be sold in the black market later that day.

Being a frequent PUNE-BOMBAY traveler this was my weekly plight. My fate was to be jammed in with a hundred other women for “floor only” seating in the unreserved ladies compartment, time after time.

Eleven years ago all that changed. IRCTC online happened and there has been no looking back. Oh the pleasure of booking a ticket from the comfort of home rather than being inspected with infinite interest from top to toe, for an interminable four hours by bored and curious fellow queue’ ers in the grubby and smelly environs of the booking office !!

Though trips are less and less frequent, I still make the odd journey on the Deccan Queen (now rather battered by age) with its tattered blue rexine covered seats and less than spacious chairs.

However one wonderful tradition has not changed. The menu of breakfast made fresh in the pantry car......

The waiters have a great memory, taking the order before Lonavala and coming round a couple of hours later (around Panvel), to settle the bill without aid of pen and paper.

Today the price of the breakfast snack is significantly more than the original 35 paise but worth its oily weight in gold.

When you crave the fine pleasure of spacing out on train journeys and eating gloriously unhealthy stuff, or are bitten by the nostagia for the delights of chair car travel and railway food- you can whip up the following.

Omelette Sandwich Deccan Queen Style

Ingredients

2 tablepoons vegetable oil or butter

2 eggs, beaten

½ onion, finely minced

/1 green chilli, finely minced

½ tomato chopped fine

¼ teaspoon salt

2 large slices white bread

Method

1. Heat the oil and a frying pan. When hot fry the onions and chillies. When soft add the tomatoes and sauté.

2. Pour in beaten eggs and fry till set. Fold into half and then fold again into a quarter

3. Butter two slices of bread. Put the quartered omelette in between .

4. Serve hot with plenty of tomato sauce and a paper napkin to wipe a shining face later.

As I reach the completion of my book on Konkani Cooking I have had fun finding out more about all the more unusual ingredients used in this cuisine. Right now I have mentioned most of the scientific names and some common names of these ingredients ( also in 10 languages in the glossary of the book) but I'd be grateful for any other insights readers may have about the following:

1.Bilimbi fruit of the Avarrhoa Bilimbi tree , also known as cucumber tree or tree sorrel. bilimbi,Irumban Puli,Chemmeen Puli,Bimbul, Orkkaapuli.A very acid fruit sometimes eaten raw as a relish. Mostly dried in salt and used as a souring agent in Konkani food.

2.Carambola/ Karmbal also known as starfruit is the fruit of the Carmabola Avarhhoa tree,

It took me some time to begin shopping for groceries at supermarket chains. I felt disloyal to my neighbourhood general stores where my rupee contributed to the preservation of "small business".

In the face of horrifying parking issues in Pune ( where not one building has adhered to parking laws, and has sold or rented parking spaces to house yet more shops, so customers are forced to park on the road, creating more jams, obstructions and stress) I have been forced to frequent the self help supermarkets proliferating all over Pune..

It has not all been under protest though. The parking lots are the main attraction. No major warfare at the time of parking. Trolleys to save the weight on my arms, airconditioning and choice.All this makes it an option today.The time saved, alone, makes it worthwhile.

In the beginning it seemed as if every supermarket catered to a foreign clientele- olive oil, pasta, mayonnaise , tinned , processed and unrecognisable foods filled the shelves. However I was glad to notice that one or two supermarkets had the average Indian customer in mind and offered, besides jowar and bajra grains and flour, more niche foods like dosa batter, idli batter and khowa, lassi and paneer.

And so I became a regular customer at Auchan (once known and soon to be known again as Max Hypermarket.)

Ah Woe is Me!!

For the last month I have been going to the delicatessan counter to pick up the usual batter and have been met with an indifferent ...." Its finished or Just starting to grind, or I dont know , not available. " No explainations, no concern, no attempt to cater to the customer. Nobody had bothered to ensure that products which were advertised were actually stocked or available.

When attempting to make a complaint, there is no manager, no assistant manager, no customer care human available . Have they all gone to lunch at 12 oclock at the same time, or maybe congregating for an important meeting in the toilet?

Unless you stage a dharna and raise your voice no person in sight wants to come forward and take responsibility.

As in all these large companies when it comes to the crunch the customer just has to lump it because no one is hearing. It seems every food retail business in India is making money hand over fist and couldn't care one bit about the consumer....yes, us little people who make your tills ring.

It is no longer worth going out of my way to a supermarket to buy ALL my groceries on the promise of one or two items specific to them, when there is no guarantee that they will be available. For the rest what they stock is what my mom and pop store stocks. So its back to Panchali General store for me.

1.Boil the potatoes till done. Peel. 2.Grind the toasted sesame seeds into a powder and mix with the other spices. 3. Add this mixture to the cooked potatoes and stir well with the aid of a tablepoon or two of water. 4. Add the lime juice and mix again. 5. Set aside for 15 minutes. 6. Top with the sliced green chillies. 7. Heat the oil and fry the fenugreek seeds till they pop. Pour this seasoning over the potatoes and serve.